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Classes throughout Uganda's schools have been suspended since March due to COVID. At RRAChild's Visionary Learning Center, however, things have been busier than ever! VLC is not only a school, it is also a permanent home for 29 boarding students and a vital source of support for the entire surrounding community. It is also a working center of food production with various crops, chickens, goats, and one mischievous cow! It is also a source of employment for several locals. We have maintained three full-time staff members during the closure and also employ other members of the faculty for other work when possible. In the past seven months we have worked hard to maintain operations as well as meet the extra challenges the pandemic has placed in our way. Shortages and price increases left many in the community short on food. We have fed anyone coming to the school looking for a meal and have also delivered bulk food items to families in need. The Ugandan government also required the construction of an additional classroom to meet social distancing requirements when classes resume. The work has been hard and the financial needs have been staggering. In the end, though, we've made it, all because of YOU, our wonderful supporters! Buildings were built, animals were fed, crops were raised, the sick were made well, and our kids continued to be given nourishment, protection, stability, comfort, and love. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us especially during these challenging times for the whole world. We wouldn't have survived without you. Our deepest love and appreciation to all of you from everyone here at Team RRAChild! For anyone who like to donate now or when you are able, our official PayPal E-mail is sajnh@yahoo.com. (run by Stephen Jones, the head of RRA Child USA) If possible, please funds via the "friends and family" option. This saves us on PayPal fees. If you would prefer to donate via GoFundMe, the link for our current campaign is here: https://www.gofundme.com/sxxpfw-revive-a-rural-african-child When supporters spread the word about us it also helps us tremendously, so please share this post or tell your friends and family about our work. Word of mouth is our only advertising!  
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 Because of COVID-19, the Ugandan postal service is no longer accepting international parcels, so please DO NOT SEND PACKAGES for the time being. We will let you know when the situation changes.
If you would still like to help, monetary donations are always needed! Food and soap are the most critical needs right now and both can be purchased locally. Classes are suspended but meals and supplies are still needed for students boarding at the school and other students and families coming to the school and sending requests for assistance. Our official Paypal E-mail for all donations is: sajnh@yahoo.com (run by Stephen Jones, the head of RRA Child USA). You can visit our PayPal donation page here. If you prefer to donate via GoFundMe, you can find our latest fundraiser page at: https://www.gofundme.com/sxxpfw-revive-a-rural-african-child Thank you for your support!  We hope everyone is keeping safe and well in these difficult times. Most of us have already experienced the food shortages in our own shops. The same thing is starting to happen in Uganda. As well as looking after the 29 boarders at the school, hungry children from the local community still come to the school to be fed. As you all know, Eddy never turns a child away and helps out a lot in the local area. Most local families survive hand-to-mouth on a daily basis and cannot buy extra food for themselves. We would like Eddy to be able to buy some more food as it will soon run out in the rural. He would then be able to help these families when food runs out and to ensure that the children continue to be fed. We know that times are difficult for a lot of us and we are so grateful for the people that continue to give. Please donate if you can.
Our official Paypal E-mail for all donations is: sajnh@yahoo.com (run by Stephen Jones, the head of RRA Child USA). You can visit our PayPal donation page here. If you prefer to donate via GoFundMe, you can find our latest fundraiser page at: https://www.gofundme.com/sxxpfw-revive-a-rural-african-child Thank you for your support!  Our borehole broke down! The kids and the community are worried to get back to old ways, fetching water from sources the animals drink from! Swampy water where the animals defecate! Water which isn't safe for drinking! Water which our kids walk long distances to get, water sources where people have to fight or wait longer to fetch it!
This is a safe and free community source where anyone can come and get water. A chain and a pedal which pulls the water broke, and servicing is needed. It will cost us about $200. Our emergency fund is completely gone, our general savings fund is miserable. 😢 We appreciate any and all donations. You can make a difference. Thank you! Our official Paypal E-mail for all donations is: sajnh@yahoo.com (run by Stephen Jones, the head of RRA Child USA). You can visit our PayPal donation page here. If you prefer to donate via GoFundMe, you can find our latest fundraiser page at: https://www.gofundme.com/sxxpfw-revive-a-rural-african-child Thank you for your support!  School starts again on January 26th! We need books, food, chalk, pens, pencils, and more for the school to open up. We need a little help from you.
Our official Paypal E-mail for all donations is: sajnh@yahoo.com (run by Stephen Jones, the head of RRA Child USA). You can visit our PayPal donation page here. If you prefer to donate via GoFundMe, you can find our latest fundraiser page at: https://www.gofundme.com/sxxpfw-revive-a-rural-african-child Thank you for your support!  Happy New Year everyone! As you all know, Eddy has been able to make progress with more classrooms. Unfortunately, there are no doors or windows yet. This means that when it's dry, a lot of dust ends up in the classrooms and when it's raining, the children's wall charts and the children themselves get wet and cold. 6 doors are needed at $100 each and 30 windows at $85. I know we've all had the expense of Christmas but if everyone on the page gave just $1.50, this would be more than enough to cover the cost of these items. If you've never donated before, please consider doing so this year. As always, please use the Family and Friends option on PayPal so that the school doesn't incur fees. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support. ❤️ Our official PayPal E-mail for all donations is: sajnh@yahoo.com (run by Stephen Jones, the head of RRA Child USA). You can visit our PayPal donation page here. If you prefer to donate via GoFundMe, you can find our latest fundraiser page at: https://www.gofundme.com/sxxpfw-revive-a-rural-african-child Please leave us a note requesting that your donation be used for windows and doors so that we can allocate the funds accordingly. Thank you!
There are several new items that are available for our world friends to donate. You can make a difference in a child's life! These items include:
Triple bunk bed: $160 One mat: $5 A pillow: $3 Wash tub: $10 Mosquito nets: $8 Mosquito spray: $5 For more info about donations, please visit our How Can I Help? page. Thank you for supporting RRAChild!  Unfortunately it is getting more and more expensive for Eddy to receive packages for the kids because of the outrageous taxes/customs fees he has to pay. (In some cases the amount of tax he has to pay exceeds the value of the items!) It is also becoming more expensive for world friends to ship packages. In the U.S., the cost for shipping packages from 8 oz - 2 lbs is $23.25! So it's time for all of us to start being smarter about the packages we ship. No one wants Eddy to LOSE money by receiving supplies, and no one wants supporters to pay expensive shipping costs either. So we are now asking penpals and all RRAChild world friends to be more selective about sending supplies. If you wish to send basic supplies, first check if Eddy can purchase these items locally. If he can, please just make a donation to cover the cost and he will buy the items there. It just makes more sense financially for everyone. You can donate to buy any of these items as general supplies for the children or as a gift for any specific child. You can even buy chickens and goats as a gift for the school or your pen pal's family! And if a mattress or a pair of shoes doesn't sound like a "fun" gift for a child, believe me that it is very much needed and appreciated! A good night's sleep and a comfortable pair of shoes for walking and playing are tremendous gifts for these kids! Also imagine if you had painful dental problems like some of our kids. A trip to the dentist to make that pain go away (and save your teeth) would be the best gift in the world!! And just the same as if you sent it yourself, your child will always be told that the gift came from YOU! Here are the items/services you can purchase for the children and their costs in USD: Mattress: $32 Blanket: $10 Backpack: $10 School Uniform: $10 Underwear: $7 (Pack of 12) Socks: $9 (Pack of 12) Black Leather School Shoes: $15 Athletic Shoes: $20 Box of 50 Pens: $6 Box of 50 Pencils: $6 Crayons: $6 (Pack of 10 Boxes) Sanitary Pads: $1 (Single Pad) Toothbrushes: $6 (Set of 10) Toothpaste: $1.50 Per Tube Umbrella: $5 Live Chicken: $8 Live Goat: $75 Birthday Cake: $6 (small, basic cake) Soccer Ball: $31 Soap: $1.20 per bar Dental Cleaning Visit: $30 Medical Check-up Visit: $15 If you want to send personal gifts for your pen pal such as homemade items, special outfits, dolls/toys, and inexpensive jewelry, please feel free to still do so! Other items you can send that are difficult or expensive to obtain in Uganda include: Books in English (textbooks, reference books, storybooks, etc.) Vitamins (new, still sealed in bottle) Seeds (new, sealed in packets) Solar Lights Educational Toys Laptops and Tablets Unfortunately the Ugandan postal system is corrupt, so sometimes Eddy will be charged fees arbitrarily, but there are guidelines you can use to minimize the taxes he has to pay. When sending packages, please follow these tips: - Keep packages light, under 4 lbs / 2 kilos. In the U.S., packages will be $23.25 from 8 oz to 2 lbs, so if you have small, inexpensive extras such as pencils, balloons, bracelets, band-aids, and toothbrushes you can add these to "fill up" and make the most of the $23.25 for a 2lb package rate. Please try to avoid heavy, bulky items such as shoes and backpacks as they are frequently flagged for high taxes by customs. Please donate to buy these items instead. - Remove all tags, boxes, and packaging from new items and mark them as "used" on the customs form, except for laptops and tablets. If you include clothing marked as used, indicate that it is not for resale. - Underdeclare value. Always declare less than $50 in value. Always mark electronics as "used" so they will not be flagged as high value items. Also, if you are a penpal, please NEVER FEEL OBLIGATED TO SEND ANYTHING other than a letter! (You can also include extra flat paper items in your letters that won't add to shipping costs but can be sweet little gifts such as printed-out photos, drawings, poems, and stickers.) Remember, the penpal program is free! The only situation where we would ask a penpal to send money is if you want a child's letter mailed to you "snail mail" instead of scanned and E-mailed to you. This small fee would just be to cover return postage. We want everyone to know that your letters themselves are incredible gifts for the children and genuine treasures to them. Your words mean the world to them. Learning about interesting people in different parts of the world is fascinating to them and an incredible source of knowledge. Even more so, your praise, encouragement, and support make our children feel special and loved! The official Paypal address for all donations is: sajnh@yahoo.com You may also contribute to our GoFundMe account here. If you are donating to buy a specific item/service for a child, please state the item and the child's name in the "note" section of the Paypal payment. Please use the "friends and family" option on Paypal for donations whenever possible. This saves us precious funds on fees! Thank you for reading and if you have any questions, please ask!  Books, pens, and pencils can be hard to keep without something to keep them together!
Our friends are always watching and wishing the best for our kids, every older kid at VLC has a bag to keep their books, many thanks to Kathy for sitting down and making all of these! RRAChild is supported by individuals like YOU. We make sure to use every single penny to do good, however small it may be. The fact that we don't get many donations doesn't stop us from achieving. To all our general donors, this is what comes from your generosity. Many thanks to all of our world friends who wish the best for the kids.
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